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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23178184">Mark of the Serpent</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serpex/pseuds/Serpex'>Serpex</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Annie Week 2020 - Serpex [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Annie Week 2020, Crystals, F/F, Modern AU, Snakes, Tattoos, mikannie - Freeform, parakeets</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:54:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,072</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23178184</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serpex/pseuds/Serpex</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Moving to a new place is never easy. But, running from the past is even harder. Annie had a good life and a good relationship once but now she was reminded of her mistakes every time she laid eyes on her body. She needed to start over. She had a new home, new friends, and a new job, but the tattoo on her arm was nothing anymore. Annie finds a local ink shop in the new town and decides to take a chance to try again, this time of her own accord.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mikasa Ackerman/Annie Leonhart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Annie Week 2020 - Serpex [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1666270</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>68</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Mark of the Serpent</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for Annie Week 2020 with prompts set by @JesterEddin on Wattpad</p><p>Day 1: Tattoos/Crystals</p><p>Some of you who follow my other Annie fics... may or may not recognize the appearance of a very special OC. Also, I think I have a reoccurring issue about Reiner and Bertholdt. I'm so sorry Annie XD</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Is that the last of it?" Ymir asked. The cardboard box plopped onto the hardwood with a rough bang as the girl straightened her back and wiped the sweat off her brow. The brunette stretched and turned to Historia. The tiny blonde handed over a cold cup of water before turning back to mark off the inventory list. </p><p>"Looks like that's it," she answered. "Do you need any help unpacking or are you calling it a night, Annie?" I waved off her offer.</p><p>"It's fine. I really appreciate you guys coming here to help me. I would have asked the guys, but..." Ymir placed a hand on my shoulder.</p><p>"We know. Don't worry about it too much, hun. Hissy and I got your back through thick and thin," she reassured. The smaller of the all of us jerked her head over to us with a glare.</p><p>"Do not call me Hissy," she scowled. I couldn't hold myself from snickering at her reaction. It felt good to be able to laugh like this though. Ymir stuck her tongue out but I could see both of them acted in good humor.</p><p>"Ah, there it is, proof of Hissy Historia. She is quick to bite back." </p><p>"Haha, very funny, Ymir," Historia remarked. "Anyway, she's right though. If anything happens, Ymir and I will drive up here faster than you can recite the Bee movie script. It's only an hour's drive away."</p><p>"Thank you. I am grateful to have both of you by my side. I'm not even sure if I'd even believe this would have happened at all if I was by myself." We all came together for a group hug before bidding farewell. I watched their retreating forms as they pulled out of the driveway and disappeared over the hill.</p><p>It was a strange feeling. Everything from the house to the streets and even the air was different. It was all new and uncomfortable yet enough to make it feel right. Moving was always a stressful thing, but even more when it felt like I was leaving something behind. I instinctively grabbed my arm squeezing my bicep as what was under my sweater would come alive and devour me whole. I sometimes think back to the way things were before I found out.</p><p>I was happy with Reiner at some point. We were a high school couple that kept together even after leaving that prison. Our first act was leaving our home life to live with each other. We got matching albino snake tattoos our first day out as a way to mark our sanction from everyone else. It was our declaration that we were setting ourselves apart. We spent every monumental turn from child to adulthood together. Everything was so perfect from the way he would hold me, the way he could be a brute one minute and a complete wuss the next, the way he really just had the mindset of a little kitten, and everything else. And by god, the way he would cherish me. I fell for his charm and became hooked the night he placed his lips on mine. It was like kissing a cloud, so soft, wet, and gentle. I could have been happy being able to kiss those lips for the rest of my life.</p><p>And then, I found those lips crashing onto Bertholdt's. There was a difference between the way Reiner kissed me and the way Reiner kissed Bertholdt. I was treated like glass, a pampered princess even though I could kick his ass in seconds. But with the taller one, Reiner was passionately pushing himself like he would die if he pulled away. There was desperation that was dependent for Reiner in a way that I could never reciprocate.</p><p>Was it a spur of the moment decision? Yeah, I suppose it was. Did I regret it happening? No, but I knew that I couldn't stay with him anymore if it meant seeing that image every single time I saw him. I had to start over away from the memories, both the good and bad. </p><p>I trekked over to the back part of the new house. It wasn't particularly large, just a standard place with a single car garage, one master bed and bathroom, and a living room that was connected to a basic kitchen area. While most of my things were still in their boxes, one set of items was set up and ready for food. Next to the kitchen counter was a covered enclosure to which I removed the satin cloth.</p><p>"Good morning!" a cheerful voice chirped. I snorted at the dandy little parakeet as I opened the door for Cloud to scamper out. Immediately, he fluttered to my shoulder and snuggled into my sweater's hood. </p><p>"Humph, hello to you too, Cloud," I greeted. Another chirp was followed by wild cries directly into my ear. I picked him up and set him on top of the cage and he danced excitedly knowing what was coming next. I filled up his little bowls hanging off the side with food and water. Just as I pulled my hand away, the blue and white bird zoomed down the metal and plunged into the grub. I mentally groaned knowing his messy eating habits would leave a nice present for me to clean later. Once he was full and satisfied, he skittered back into his enclosure and settled on a branch. I locked it down and decided to get out into town. </p><p>While I'm not exactly the craziest person about getting out, I felt like I had to ground myself. It would help to start a new life with a new memory, right? I grabbed some cash and changed my sweater for a light jacket before heading out to town. I opted to walk so I could better make a mental map and found some decent food joints and stores. One particular donut shop made it worth it the moment I saw the three for one dollar deal. Maybe it wasn't as bad.</p><p>I was about to head home when I noticed a blinking neon sign around a corner. I could tell it was a little ink shop where you could get tattoos and piercings done. It wasn't like I really wanted to get another work done, but something in my heart told me it was the right thing to do. I pressed a hand to my arm. </p><p>It had to be the right thing to do.</p><p>There was an electric ringer as I walked in and surprisingly, the place was really clean and bright. Various drawings and designs covered the walls among some displays with different pieces on them. Most of the places I'd gone to before had a grungy appearance, almost gothic looking. But, this place was like looking into a castle in some way. It was enchanting to me. </p><p>Two young guys looked up from the back. A boy with bombshell blonde hair was working on someone's leg. The other was a tall lean guy with dark messy hazel hair. The latter sauntered over to me and gave a warm smile.</p><p>"You're a new face around here," he commented. "The name's Eren, and that's Armin back there." I glanced him over and realized there was a small tag on this chest reading 'Apprentice.' I suddenly wondered just how experienced these guys were. They seemed nice, but I was a little scared of getting another mistake marked on my body.</p><p>"Annie," I returned. "I'm looking to... Get a cover-up. I recently moved here and wanted some changes, I suppose." Eren nodded in understanding, but he paused for a second seeing my uneasy composure. He gestured for me to come over to a back office. "You don't have to worry about Armin or me working on you. We aren't really skilled at cover-ups quite yet, so you'll be working with one of our best. Her name's Mikasa." </p><p>"Oh, um, thank you." Eren escorted me to a back office and swung open a door. Inside was a nice little lounge looking area with to couches on either side of the room and a desk towards the back. A woman looked up from sketching on what seemed to be a jumble of papers.</p><p>"Hey, I got a new client who wants to do a cover-up. She's all yours!" he beamed before ushering me inside and then closing the door behind him. Mikasa wordlessly stood up and sat down in one couch and I took it as an initiative to sit in the other. I could really take in who she was, this Mikasa.</p><p>She was toned and had a pleasant side sweep in her dark hair. Two snake bite piercings shined silver along thin lips. Oddly enough, she only had one sleeve done and covered while her other arm had nothing. There seemed to be hints of other tattoos hiding on her chest, but I wasn't about to pry.</p><p>"I thought I was hearing a new voice out there. My name is Mikasa Ackerman. I've been an artist for about seven years now. I'm glad you reached out to us for this kind of work. So, what exactly am I working with?" she asked. </p><p>"Annie Leonhardt, I've got an old guy that I'm looking to remove from my life in a way," I answered. I took off my jacket and turned to show off my bicep. </p><p>The albino snake slithered up from my elbow all the way up to my shoulder blade. It had striking blue eyes and a black tongue flicking over. Mikasa seemed taken aback by the work. She looked up at me as if asking if she could touch it to which I nodded. She walked over to me and ran her hands across its length.</p><p>"It's a very beautiful work. You have a story behind it?" </p><p>"My ex-boyfriend and I got matching ones about three years ago. We were young and a little stupid, so it wasn't like we thought that things would ever change between us. He got an all melanistic snake, and I got the albino one. I don't even remember if it was like a yin and yang thing. It was just something we wanted at the time I guess. It's not like it's bad. But, I just associate it with too much." </p><p>"I can understand that. It won't be any problem for me to change it. Do you have any specific designs you were thinking of?" I shrugged off Mikasa's question. </p><p>"I was thinking of something along the lines of rebirth, but admittedly, I do still like the snake. But, I don't know if there's a way to do a little different kind of snake?" </p><p>Mikasa smirked and went to pull out a small spiral notebook and plopped it onto the table. "I am definitely a fan of the rebirth idea. And ironically," she began," I happen to have a whole series dedicated to reptiles. You can skim through them for any styles you prefer. In terms of the actual rebirth part, how do you feel about phoenixes?" The thought was riveting. A phoenix was a great creature that rose from the ashes after it died its first death. To combine that with a snake seemed like such a cool idea. I looked through the sketchbook amazed at the mix of snakes, lizards, turtles, and even some mythical fantasy renditions of the animals. They looked so realistic as if they would come alive and crawl out of the pages. </p><p>I probably spent nearly an hour just looking at the book until I stumbled upon a beautiful sketch of a cobra. It was raising its head high not in an intimidating way, but almost like a majestic stance. Mikasa was smiling in an endearing way the whole time. I lingered on the cobra enough that she pulled it away.</p><p>"This the one?" she asked. I involuntarily let a grin slip from my facade.</p><p>"I think so," I affirmed. She nodded and pulled out a clean sheet of paper and began to remake the sketch expertly and then added some extra details. By the end, she had an absolutely gorgeous winged cobra rising from what looked like a crystal grave. It had that phoenix vibe with the way it rose from an seemingly unbreakable material. The crystal had a teal hue that shimmered as the royal purple and crimson scales twisted among the cracks and piercing golden eyes watched over you. I was in awe at the work and absolutely shocked at how quickly Mikasa did it.</p><p>"If this is the design you like, we can get started on it. It might be a few hours though, so we can do multiple small treatments or get it over with. Obviously, you know your pain tolerance better than I do. Although, I'll try my best to make sure everything doesn't hurt too bad." </p><p>"I think it's amazing the way it is. I can spare to do this all at once. I didn't really have too many plans for today anyway," I mused. Mikasa nodded and then went out to the main room. She set up a seat for me and got all her materials ready. The design transferred over my old design easily and soon Mikasa got to work. I did tense up a little bit at first, but as the rhythm grew more regular, I started to relax a bit more. </p><p>"You're taking this really well, Annie. With this large of work, it's not too often you see someone sit there like you could fall asleep," she said. I huffed as my eyes started to follow her hand.</p><p>"Oh trust me, it's not that easy," I retorted. "Honestly, they used to scare me a lot. But somehow, getting a tattoo is kind of therapeutic now." Mikasa hummed in response.</p><p>"I understand that. I suppose, in the same way, I once went through a rebirth in my life. Eren, Armin, and I all grew up together. We had little pets, birds, that we all adored. Like a child's dream, we all thought it would be amazing one day to train them into bird racers. Eren had a cockatoo, Armin had a little finch, and I had a parakeet. One day, my parakeet got sick. He wouldn't eat or drink anything. We ended up surrendering him to our vet desperate to make sure he was okay, only... We didn't know it came at a cost. I thought I would be able to get him back once he was all better, only they wanted money. We had to pay some hundreds if we wanted to get him back, and there was no way we could have afforded the price at the time. I don't know if he got adopted or not. But, it really got me into making art. When I got older, I turned to ink prints at first and eventually got into doing piercings and tattoos." She paused and suddenly unclipped her shirt showing a tattoo on her chest. It was a blue and white parakeet flying up from a black cloud up to pure white ones. It was comforting to know we both connected with a similar situation. We both had a purpose and resolve. "I eventually got this done as a way to mourn and move forward. It's not like I don't love him anymore, but I will never forget." She set the needle back to work. I found myself suddenly looking close at the parakeet reminding me of my own pet until an epiphany seemed to connect the pieces.</p><p>"How long ago did this happen?" I asked. Mikasa thought it over before answering.</p><p>"It would have to be almost eight years now." I gasped and waved my hand as a sign for her to stop to which she complied, albeit confused by my actions. I pulled out my phone and quickly navigated to my photos.</p><p>"I happen to have a parakeet of my own, and well... I adopted him from a bird shelter eight years ago. Is this him?" Mikasa's eyes widened as she froze for a hot second.</p><p>"Holy shit. That's, that's him! It's Thundercloud!" I laughed at the name seeing how close it was.</p><p>"This is actually insane," I mumbled. "I renamed him Cloud since he seemed to be so pretty and yet so sassy. You should come over to see him."</p><p>"I would absolutely love that," Mikasa said as her eyes seemed to shimmer. "Alright, we have to be best friends now, Annie. I love you. You are a godsend actually. Also, this tattoo? Free. You can't say anything, I'm not charging you shit." </p><p>"What?! No, I can't let you do that."</p><p>"Can't fight me, Annie. I've decided."</p><p>"Fine, but I'm tipping you generously."</p><p>"Well, I suppose I can't fight that," Mikasa chuckled. "Let's finish this up, then. I get off soon anyway, and Eren and Armin can close. I am literally so ecstatic, I could kiss you right now, Annie."</p><p>"I mean, I won't stop you," I joked. </p><p>"Okay."</p><p>Before I could catch another breath though, her lips were on mine. I could have melted into a puddle right then and there. There was a pair of loud gasps that made us pull apart to which Mikasa and I both glared at the boys who seemed to be eavesdropping. They scattered back to whatever they were doing. I turned back to Mikasa who was charmingly looking me over. We both broke as we burst into a fit of laughter. </p><p>"It's been a long time since I've been able to laugh like that. I'm glad that out of every place, you walked into here today, Annie," she said. I smiled in agreement. </p><p>"I'm glad I got to meet you, too. And thank you for the tattoo. And um, you're a great kisser." I mumbled the last part and turned away as heat flushed my face. Mikasa's lips twitched a bit, but she went back to her poker face as she finished up my tattoo. We stayed silent until she finished. As she cleaned things up, she leaned down to my ear.</p><p>"You're an exquisitely wonderful kisser as well, Annie." I playfully threw a punch, but she cackled as she walked away.</p><p>"Give me a sec, and I'll be right out." My heart was beating so fast as she slipped back into her office.</p><p>I think my heart was stolen.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And that's one down out of seven! I hope you guys stick around for the rest ^^</p></blockquote></div></div>
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